Free Friday

Awesome Weekend

WOW. My weekend was amazing and everything but ordinary. I have been on the go since Friday at 8 a.m. and haven't stopped until....well, right now.

Everything started with a private tour of the American art collection at the High. After previously touring the museum, I had already seen the American art exhibit. However, I had never listened to it. Having the chance to have a private tour truly does open your eyes to the talent and beauty of the art work. Like I have said in previous posts, being given the background of the art enhances its true beauty one hundred percent. Seeing how the curators grouped works and displayed then 'salon style' was interesting. I love the salon style of similar works, because it helps tie the entire message and theme together. We only had enough time to be given a tour of the 18th - early 19th century, but I learned lots. Many of the art works had gone through transformations from the European style painting to a more patriotic/landscape/rustic/country vibe. At this time there were also many portraits executed. I normally just saw a portrait for what it was: a painting. Throughout the tour I realized how talented these artists were, and the time and patience it took for them to simply paint a bust, nonetheless a full pose plus background. America, you are fascinating now as you were then.

After the exhibit, all interns were catered Vespucci's pizza because we had a Luunch and Learn with the museum's director Michael Shapiro. Sadly, Shapiro was caught with a time conflict, and had to reschedule. The High didn't leave us in the dark; however, and arranged for us to meet Shapiro's great friend and colleague Philip Verre, COO, High Museum of Art. Philip was a great substitute and blew us away with his awesome job as COO. He has traveled to numerous countries in search of art collections to display at the High. Along the way he has made great connections, met wonderful people and has had the experiences of a lifetime.

My Friday ended with a great night at the Georgia Aquarium for a monthly event, Science on Tap. Morgan and I attended the event and enjoyed wine and a lecture by Joel Kostka, a microbiologist researcher and Georgia Tech professor. It was a great way to unwind, be educated and enjoy a different atmosphere.

Friday night gradually evolved into Saturday which meant the original bat mobile (shown at the Mall of Georiga) and the Atlanta Beer Fest. To me, the bat mobile means nothing, but to the four boys I was with --it meant the world. Apparently it meant the world to all the other present googley-eyeres and drooly-droolers, too. The bat mobile was the start of my 'bro day' with the boys. This lead to the most amazing time at the Atlanta Beer Festival at the Masquerade in downtown Atlanta

First off, the Masquerade is a run-down building from the outside and should possibly be avoided at all cost. However, behind its facade is where all the magic happens. Walking in there are food trucks, some vendors, bands and of course BEER. Taps and taps of beer to be correct. Seen as a beer tasting event, you could positively find a new (if not 5) favorite beer. Here are some of the beers I tasted, just to name a few:

Fox Barrel Pale Ale
Fox Barrel Apple Cider

Fox Barrel Blackberries Pear

Magic Hat Circus Boy
Laughing Skull
Koppaberg Pear
Koppaberg Pale Ale
plus a few more here and there where the names were lost....

The beer festival was a great day/night out with friends to enjoy the great (hot) weather, bands, beer and socializing. Running into old friends and making new ones was the theme of the night. Our whole group had a great time, and I am glad the boys let me tag along this time around. Maybe if I am lucky I will get to attend the Winter Beer Festival with them. Here are only a few pictures from the event.

To finish off the weekend, I attended the Georgia Bridal Show at the Gwinnet Center. No one in our group was getting married, but the expo didn't need to know that. Six signatures, seven emails, four swag bags and 12 brochures later, the 'bride', 'maid of honor' and 'mother of the bride' were exhausted. We did enjoyed the free samples of cake and flowers that were available at the show, along with the other vendor's goodies. The exposition ended with a greatly entertaining fashion show to exhibit David's Bridal and Men's Warehouse's attire for any wedding style. The fashion show was an hour of music, dancing, laughing, and gorgeous gowns and tuxes. The show was definitely a great ending to the bridal show, and was a great time for the three of us girls to enjoy a day out.

Now the work week starts up tomorrow, and this is when I wish the weekend was one extra day long. Curse you fun weekends for spoiling me.